A homage to the peg doll

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Month: August 2010

Fold the top over about 1-1.5cm and crease flat with the back of your finger nail

With the folded edge on the inside, wrap the bodice around the wooden peg so the seam will be at the back

Hold one edge tight to the peg and turn the otherside in to make a neat edge. Hold the fabric together with a pin

Use a strong sewing thread of similar colour to your fabric. Thread a needle (the smallest you can find!) and tie a knot in the end of the thread. Take the needle through the fabric at the bottom hiding your knot under one of the folds. Oversew the two pieces of fabric together along the whole length of the body pulling it tight around the peg as you go. Finish off your thread by passing it back through the stitching. Cut the thread off close to the bodice.

This seam will be covered so don’t worry too much about what it looks like. The bodice however, should fit tightly around the peg. This can be a little bit fiddly so take the time to get this pinned on in the right place before you stitch it on.

I always start with the face. If you don’t like it it is easier to sand it off and start again at this stage than at the end! The face will also give a doll it’s character, so define this at the beginning.

1) If you have some fine sandpaper, sand the peg first to get rid of splinters and rough areas:

2) First paint in the eyes (see the end of this post for face transfers). If you are using pens you could use white correction fluid for this part or a white gel pen if you have one. Use the finest paintbrush you can buy if you are painting, this is fiddly work! Make tear drop shapes:

3) Outline the teardrop shapes in black

4) Add a blue circle in the centre for the pupil and two curved lines for eyebrows

5) Add a black dot in the centre of the circle and change to red for the lips. For the top lip draw/paint a flat ‘m’ shape, for the bottom lip a flat ‘v’

6) Fill in the lips and add eyelashes to make her more feminine

7) If you have some, varnish the head once it is dry to protect it. Varnish down some of the body also. Check that the medium you have used for the face is waterproof or your face will run.

TIP: You could use clear nail varnish if you have some!

Here are some alternative faces. They are quite characterful! Experiment, you could try different faces out on paper first.

If you are using a dolly peg face transfer:

1) Soak the transfer in warm water for a few minutes. If you leave it in longer the glue will disolve and the face won’t stick

2) Check carefully to see if the transfer will lift off the backing paper. I use a thin craft knife to do this.

3) Slide the transfer onto the face and with a dry cloth press the transfer down until it has stuck. Let it dry

This takes practice so do the process carefully. You might find it easier to varnish your doll first so that the transfer slides on more easily.

Join me and learn how to dress a dollypeg step by step. This is a simple design but will look really great! It is best to sew the clothes as glue will eventually fall apart. This is the doll we will be making:

You will need the following materials:

Wooden clothes peg, pipe cleaner (white or flesh tone), acrylic paints/face transfer/coloured pens, small paint brush if using paint, cotton print fabric in your own choice of colour (I have used a patterned fabric for the dress and a plain one for the top. You will need about 20cm square), strong sewing thread to match the fabric, embroidery needle (about size 9 or as small as you can thread!), fabric and embroidery scissors, sand paper if you have some.

We will add accessories later, lets just look at the basic doll first.

I will give you time to assemble some materials! The first thing we will do when you return is the face….

My lot of dolls arrived this morning. It’s excting when you don’t quite know what you are going to get. This was my first view: lot’s of feet!

As you have probably worked out from the title, it was a mixed bag. Let’s start with the good:

The first four are beautiful examples. Simple but well made (sewn together!) in pretty printed fabrics. The seond and third need a little attention but are otherwise well made.

And now for the bad:

I say bad, but it’s nothing some TLC wouldn’t fix. Some of these dolls are in a very bad state and are a good example of why you should always stitch the clothes and not glue them. It’s conincidence that they are all pink!

And now for the “what the…..”! I just don’t know what to say about this one:

A you can see, the peg is rather alot bigger than a normal peg. He has the bizarrest outfit on, I’m lost for words! If anyone has any printabe ones, please feel free to leave a comment…

I’m never sure about what to do with the ones that need fixing. Some need completely pulling apart and remaking properly but does this spoil the authenticity of them?

I have just bought an auction of 17 peg dolls for the princely sum of £3.00! Will let you know what I’ve bought when they arrive. It’s a bit hard to tell from the picture, but if I get one good one then it will be £3.00 well spent.

While you are waiting, just for some light amusement, I thought I would post a photo of a clothespin peg I turned into a bug. I like the idea of painting the pegs and I have a rather fine set of painted pegs but I will save them for a special occasion to show you as they are my favourite (and probably oldest) pegs!

I painted this little chappie with ordinary acrylic paint and gave it two coats of varnish to finish it off. The antennae are pipecleaners cut to length and fixed into holes drilled into the top of the peg. He is only about 7cm long. Make up your own camolflage for a unique peg bug.

!COMING SOON! Stay with me for a step by step project on clothing a peg doll. I will show you how to paint a face, make a bodice, make an easy skirt and whip up some matching sleeves. Lastly we will give her some hair and we may even get onto some accessories!